At least 136 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate in the Ahr Valley flood in July 2021. Two years later, the reconstruction is far from complete. Those affected are severely disappointed by politics.
With digital posters all over Germany, those affected by the Ahr Valley flood disaster want to make federal politicians aware of their situation. “At the federal level, you hear nothing more from the Ahr Valley,” says Thomas Pütz. He is a co-founder of the former helper shuttle in the valley and takes part in the campaign. The posters should make it clear to citizens and federal politicians: “There are still people, there is still a valley, there is still a region in the middle of Germany that still needs help.”
Portraits of those affected and the message “Learning from the Ahr Valley Flood” can be seen nationwide for at least a week on the digital advertisements. Above the faces are sentences like: “It’s frustrating when private relief efforts come up against legal hurdles.”
Two years of Ahr Valley commemoration day: “Nobody was there from federal politics”
According to co-initiator Daniel Koller, the decisive factor for the action was the absence of federal politicians on the second flood memorial day on Friday. They had been promised a lot by federal politicians, says Pütz. “And who was there for the second anniversary? Nobody was there from federal politics.” State Premier Malu Dreyer (SPD), Interior Minister Michael Ebling (SPD) and Climate Protection Minister Katrin Eder (Greens) attended the official commemoration event in the city of Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler on July 14.
At least 136 people died in Rhineland-Palatinate in the flood disaster of July 14/15, 2021. Thousands of buildings were destroyed in the Ahr Valley and the infrastructure was badly damaged. The reconstruction is far from complete.
On the first anniversary of the disaster a year ago, both Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier were in the Ahr Valley. Steinmeier was also visiting the region shortly before this year’s anniversary. Scholz gave his summer press conference in Berlin on the day of remembrance.
“The commemorative events were organized by the municipalities affected by the floods,” the Rhineland-Palatinate State Chancellery said on request. The state government was not aware of the invitation modalities. “In the time around the memorial day, numerous representatives of federal and state politics were in the Ahr Valley.”
“Our greatest fear is that we will be forgotten”
“What the people on the Ahr would have wished for was federal politicians coming to the Ahr Valley with something in their luggage. Because that’s what it’s suffering from,” says the flood-affected book author and police officer Andy Neumann. He would have liked a visit from Interior Minister Nancy Faeser (SPD).
Pütz says fears have come true. “Our greatest fear is that we will be forgotten. At the time, Mr. Scholz also said in front of the cameras that we will not forget the Ahr Valley. In my opinion, this promise has not really been kept,” he says. “We feel more and more forgotten.”
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
